Review-Date: 9/14/2002 Rating: 2 Summary: It‘s about communication not design
This book does not cover design of the interface well at all.
Not worth buying for design. Ok for how to talk to a user
Review-Date: 6/19/2001 Rating: 5 Summary: Excellent Practicle tips
This book was the best out of several others that I have read realted to usability engineering or UCD. It had several practical examples and stories attached to each topic. Its excellent for starter as well as proffesionals who are working at companies and have to justify several things. Several formates for reports and other resources are available for conducting a good Users and Task Analysis. More so its really easy and interesting to read with all the stories and the diagrams.
Review-Date: 1/5/2001 Rating: 5 Summary: Read it before you need it.
If there is one strong message in this book, it is: Go talk to the people who will use your product. It‘s an important message. Software designers and writers spend too much time with each other developing clever tricks, while the poor user, often left to self–train with a poorly written manual, gives up in frustration. The authors follow their own advice––in addition to telling you how to conduct a site visit to the end users, there are clear instructions (based on experience) on planning a visit, structuring questions, how to make the site visit useful for both the analyzers and the users, and figuring out what the user said and what it means about the product. There are reminders about release forms and examples of the forms themselves. Case studies help make the points clear and undestandable. A thoroughly readable book in clear and simple language that can be started anywhere for quick help, or read cover to cover for a complete course.
Review-Date: 12/15/2000 Rating: 5 Summary: A handbook you will dog ear from use
First of all, I have not read this book cover to cover. I have used it as a manual for task analysis in bits and pieces. Eventually, I will read it cover to cover, as it deserves this attention and I need the information.I was recommended this book by a colleague and since recommended it at least a dozen times myself to fellow human factors engineers and software/system designers. It had the answers to many of the practical questions I was asking and being asked. This book gives practical advice on how to analyse a task based on the "things that need to be done" to the "people that need to do them". Based on the recommendations, these are not "pie in the sky" ideas but practical tips from the people that do this work day to day. If you read through the table of contents that Amazon provides you will find most if not all of your questions on how to go about this type of work answered within the pages of this book. Briefly the Chapters are broken up into main segments of this type of work: 1. Introducing User and Task Analysis for Interface Design UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT OF USER AND TASK ANALYSIS 2. Thinking about Users 3. Thinking about Tasks 4. Thinking about the User‘s environment 5. Making the Business case for site visits GETTING READY FOR SITE VISITS 6. Selecting techniques 7. Setting up site visits 8. Preparing for site visits CONDUCTING THE SITE VISIT 9. Conducting the site visit–Honing your observational skills 10.Conducting the site visit–Honing your interview skills MAKING THE TRANSITION FROM ANALYSIS TO DESIGN 11. Analysing and presenting the data you have collected 12. Working toward the interface design 13. Prototyping the interface design 14. User and task analysis for Documentation and training Appendix A: Template for a site visit plan Appendix B: Resources Appendix C: Guidelines for User–Interface Design The appendices are a collection of very useful information to jog your memory while doing a site visit as well as some general user interface guidelines. This makes for a nice checklist to check if you forgot anything. Not only is this book chock full of good tips, advice and an idea of how to structure this type of work, but it was designed well visually. The fonts and typography are pleasant to look at and the examples, graphics and important points are well illustrated. I guess they did a good job of analyzing the task of the reader as well.
Review-Date: 10/9/2000 Rating: 5 Summary: How to do it..
I like it a lot this book, because really can help you how to do a Good Design, The book show a lot techniques an examples than help you to understand and make it easy. This book has usability itself. I enjoyed a lot.
Review-Date: 3/21/2000 Rating: 5 Summary: Great for the practitioner‘s bookshelf!
I just finished planning a contextual inquiry for a new product. This book covered everything I needed to know, from how to structure the plan to suggestions on what to bring for gifts. I especially like the paragraphs that describe real things that happened to the authors and their friends while doing these studies.If you are considering any kind of site visit or field study in order to learn about the end users of your product (AND YOU SHOULD), you will find this book highly useful. Check with me later as to how well it helped me write up results...
Review-Date: 12/31/1999 Rating: 4 Summary: Excellent Starting Point
This is the first book I‘ve read on this subject, and it was a great starting point for me. I‘m responsible for implementing a system that, in its current state, is not "user–friendly" enough. This was the book I was looking for to help me express the criticality of the user‘s perspective to the designers as we embark on the redesign. A starting point for our dialog will be the classification of users into "novices, advanced beginners, competent performers, and experts," and their corresponding characteristics. The example showing that approximately 80% of users do not move beyond the "advanced beginner" stage on a tool that they use relatively infrequently. This matches our experiences. For our product to be successful, we need to focus on these users, who will be the majority of our population. I also take to heart the reactions that can emerge from the shock of seeing real users working with the prototype or product for the first time: defensiveness, despair, rush to redesign, and the thought that it can all be solved by training or documentation. Been there, felt that. Through reading this book, I have a new appreciation for the complexity of the task ahead of us, and the tremendous amount of time and attention it is going to take to get it right. Fortunately, we have a user community that is currently very eager to help us get it right –– this book is going to be a valuable tool to help us collect, structure and analyze their input and experiences. I considered at a lot of other books before choosing this one –– it hit the mark for me as a manager–level view of user and task analysis, tool development and implementation. It‘s not a computer programming book (many user–interface books are focused on the specifics of GUI –– even including code), and it‘s not a book targeted at psychology majors (they hit the basics of cognitive psychology –– but from a "this is what users are like" perspective, not a theoretical standpoint.) It‘s an excellent starting point for the rest of us.
Review-Date: 11/8/1999 Rating: 5 Summary: Good Reference, Easy Reading, Informative
Really drives–home the importance of understanding What problem(s) will be solved for users?. This book puts user and task analysis into propective, conveying good ‘how to‘ information.
Review-Date: 4/27/1999 Rating: 5 Summary: Profundidad en el Análisis
Este libro es de gran utilidad, por la diversidad de ideas y casos de aplicación que muestra. Da un panoráma muy amplio de la importancia del análisis de Tarea y Usuarios, con una guía de principio a fin para la concepción de un Diseño. Lo que más me agradó fueron las técnicas que muestra para el Análisis de Tarea. Definitivamente lo recomiendo.
Review-Date: 2/5/1999 Rating: 4 Summary: a perfect starter text for students and new comers
This book is a perfect starter text for students and new comers to interface design. I have found it to be the most concise collection of interface methodology in print. I am currently using this book to guide my college level communication class through a user–centered design curriculum. They have found it to be some of the easiest material written on these subjects to digest.
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